Men’s prayer breakfast may be on the verge of wrongful cooking suit

By JOHN PERRY

Published 7:00 pm, Sunday, March 14, 2010

There is one thing for sure: every time you turn on the news or pick up a newspaper, you are likely to be faced with information that appears to be absolutely ridiculous. The problem with this it is usually accurate and the more ridiculous it seems, the more credible it is found to be.

Yesterday, on the news, just such an issue came to light. It seems the city of New York’s restaurant industry may be facing an action that will have an impact world-wide if it comes to pass.

A few years ago our country, as well as many other parts of the world, were informed that smoking in public was unhealthful as well as the secondhand smoke. It was determined that smoking be banned in public places, and if it did occur the owners of such establishments would be cited and fined. At that time it appeared most of the world smoked, and it caused non-smokers a great deal of discomfort, and possible health issues.

Anyway, we all know it took a while, but public smoking is almost a thing of the past.

As mentioned, yesterday on the news the restaurant industry may be facing another ban that is alleged to be contributing to serious health problems. That, my friends, happens to be usage of salt in our recipes.

Yep, it is now determined that most recipes in restaurants and fast food outlets, use far more salt than is considered to be healthy. Apparently New York is a target area. Naturally, the chefs and owners of these establishments are in a turmoil. One chef said if they couldn’t cook with salt, patrons might as well just dine in hospital cafeterias and nursing homes.

Well, on the surface this appears almost beyond comprehension. We also know we have become accustomed to many food items that are just tasteless without salt, and without that enhancement it is not fit to eat. Now, this likely seems far fetched, but don’t think it can’t happen.

Many folks, myself included, will get hypertension just thinking about it. Can you imagine what a McDonald’s fry would taste without that salty flavor, and dripping with sodium laced catsup?

Every Wednesday morning I help with the Men’s Prayer Breakfast at UMC, and have for many years. I procure several pounds of cured, thick-sliced, bacon, and sugar cured ham, plus several pounds of sausage. We cooks are very conscientious with this chore and find it necessary to sample these items frequently during the cooking cycle, to make sure the flavor (mostly salty) is consistent. All the while we are doing this John Ross is slinging salt over the hash browns that resembles a white-out blizzard!

Well, no one knows what this will all come to, but we all know stuff happens. I can just see our guys eating broccoli and spinach instead of that dreadful pork stuff we serve.